by JSAM_s Mom

I went into the store on Saturday to pick up an SD card for my GPS.  I completely expected to find the store packed and nary a staff member to be found.  I was shocked when I was greeted right away, and asked if they could direct me to find something.  I said I was only picking up an SD card, and she pointed out the direction I needed to go.  A sales clerk was walking out of the back room, walking in my direction, and immediately asked me if he could help me find something.  Although it was obvious it wasn’t the department he was used to working in, he still tried to help me find what I needed.  I found the item, and walked up to the cash and paid.  Keep in mind this was on the last Saturday before school started, so you can imagine it was fairly busy in there.  All told, I was in and out of the store in 5-10 minutes.  Although this store is out of my way, I will try to go back there more often, instead of shopping at the Staples store I usually frequent, which has really crappy service but really convenient for me.

by Broken Windshield Guy

Very unhappy with this water park called “Wild Water Kingdom”. My car windshield was broken inside the parking lot. I paid $8 for a dusty gravel parking lot and at the end of the day, my car front windshield was broken with a golf ball that came from the park.

I went inside their office and told them about it, and they just made me fill out an incident report. At the same time, another guy had the same problem with his brand new car: broken windshield with a golf ball.

I tried to contact the Senior Manager but he avoided me until a week and a half; then a lady phoned me to offer me free passes!! Are you kidding me?? I would never ever go back again. I guess they wanted to punish me more or get my car damaged again. I am very disapointed and I just want them to pay for my broken windshield.

I would not recommend this place to anyone, not just because of this, but also, the batting cage, bumper boats, some slides weren’t working. The swimming pool water was too dirty;  you got to rent their tubes for some slides and for the lazy river; and last but not least you’re not allowed to bring any food or drinks, so you got to spend money on their expensive and bad food.

VERY VERY DISSAPOINTED!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! DO NOT GO TO THIS PARK!! YOUR CAR MIGHT BE DAMAGED!!!

by SmartShopper

London Drugs in Richmond BC, Granville and # 3 Road.

Today I went to buy vitamins because they were on sale.  I saw a “special” posted on the shelf which said buy 3 bottles and you will earn a $10 LD gift card.  Good job, LD is doing their best to draw in customers.  Little does their headquarters know their cashiers are driving their customers away on the other end.  How?  When I went to pay, I asked if I may immediately use the gift card towards more merchandise I wanted to buy today.  ”No” said the teenager, without further explaining why.  I asked again, “No”.  That’s all.  What a stupid answer.  Then it turned out the 3 bottles I selected were the wrong combination and the total was more than I expected.  So I said: “I will go back to the pharmacy dept and select the right combo.”  The teenager rung up the customer behind me and put a “Stop” sign for her checkout line.  I thought maybe she was rude and unhelpful because she was in a hurry to clock out.

After I corrected my vitamin selection, I made sure I went to a different cashier.  This time an older woman.  Same answer “no, you cannot use the card now”.  ”Why? I have other purchases today.  When is the earliest I can use the $10 gift card?”  ”The card will be activated tomorrow.  But you have up to a year to use it.”  ”Oh, now I see”.  Her explanation tone was not very friendly either but at least I squeezed that extra little bit of info out of her.

I am an educated & confident person and stood up for myself by asking questions.  Can you imagine someone with weaker command of English, or older seniors who are easily confused or embarrased?

LD cashiers must learn that their jobs (ie paycheck & livelihood) hinges on helpful customer service.  Customers are not always right but *you* are here to help them.  When customers stop coming to LD, your store will close and you will be laidoff!

I will tell all my friends and families about the poor customer service and bad attitudes of these cashiers.  I hope their customer service karmas catch up with them.  I hope they & their families receive bad service themselves so they know what it feels to be on the receiving end.  When LD starts using self-service checkouts in LD, you will learn your lessons.  Too late!!

by A. D’Souza

So for those to be brides….please do not ever make the mistake of going to American Romance in Oakville. There are 3 sales people - Mia, Moe & Joe - they are the nicest sales people until you pay for the dress. Once that’s done & you have to go back for the alterations….you’ll never see them. The store is all of a sudden always closed, no one answers the store phone, the cell numbers just ring & ring……you definately do not need this additional stress while planning your wedding. They know exactly how to screw up your wedding experience by almost not having a dress. They have no professionalism, no courtesy calls if they miss an appointment & to top it all of they try & blame you for something or the other. Brides to be or anyone wanting a gown from American Romance, please do not make the mistake of going there. I am talking from experience & my wedding is in October & I now have to find a seamstress who will alter my dress in a month, after having paid American Romance for the same.

American Romance
2360 Lakeshore Rd W
Oakville, ON
L6L 1H5

Tel - 905-901-0085

by those were the day my friend

I’ve only just become aware of this site, and after reading all these statements, I think it is pretty fair to say, that gone are the day when “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT”.  It SEEMS as if people just don’t practice good customer service anymore…ie; a friendly smile, a how are you today?, concern when you are presenting a problem…. especially with alot of the younger kids (and I’m not even 40 yet). Seems kids today are too self involved…they take your coffee order and still continue to chat to their co worker….no focus on the customer. I guess people forget that without customers, stores would go under and they would be out of a job.

I’ve started saying “you’re welcome” when cashiers don’t say thank you.

But when you DO have that person that IS kind and welcoming, make sure to acknowledge them.

by Doggone Mad in Kingston

I was recently shopping in PetSmart and found a harness on sale for one of my five dogs.  When i came to ring out the price did not scan correctly (regular 22.99  on sale for 15.99) so I informed the cashier.  With 3 people waiting in line she and I returned to the spot I got it and I was in fact correct about the price.  The people still waiting in line(growing impatient by now I’m sure) had to wait for the assistant manager to open the till.  They rang in the sale price with no mention of the retail code.  When I mentioned the code of conduct they not only made me feel like and idiot stating that it’s only some places that do that, but they also ensured that everyone in the line behind me knew it.  After having spent thousands of dollars over time with 5 dogs worth of food and pet supplies to buy I can assure anyone that Petsmart is not the place I plan to spend one more cent.

by Ann

I bought a can of “black” spray paint at xc, Fennel & Upper Gage, Hamilton and when I went to use it…it was “clear”.  I had shaken the can, no colour.  I sprayed it on newspaper…nothing.  Great!  The store does not do refunds or exchanges. Figures.  They keep the paint in the back room, you have to ask for it.  So I gave them the benefit of the doubt, ok, it’s just the one can.  I had a can of white at home so I started my project with white instead (purchased long time ago elsewhere). I ran out of paint so I thought I would get white at the same store.  Again I had to ask for it and the same guy was getting it for me.  I asked if he would kindly spray it on the cardboard he has there…just so I can be sure it is white and I explained what had happened to me.  He didn’t want to, he said, they are the colour of the lid and kids use them and put the wrong lids on them, that’s what must’ve happened to the one I bought, that’s why they keep them in the back now.  Well I told him.  The one I bought was from the back…YOU got it for me and it didn’t work.  So he reluctantly squirted a little and it just got a bit of paint on his finger, it was white so I took it.

I went to use it yesterday and it wouldn’t spray evenly…it just splattered and then quit altogether!  I was so mad.  So now I’ve spent about $4 (they were $1.99 ea) on paint that’s no good and I can’t do anything about it! Well, you can be sure I will never buy a SINGLE THING at that store again.  What a bunch of scammers!!

by Screamy

I frequently buy those “make your own pizza” kits with the shells already made as a semi-frugal way of having a “date” night; the BF loves pizza and I just won’t pay $25 for one I can make at home for  less than $5!

I purchased a package of shells at the Queens Quay store and didn’t notice, until I had already cooked it and we were eating, that it had large spots of grey mold on the bottom of one of the shells (which are concealed by a cardboard insert until you open them).  :(

I keep my receipts for everything, and decided to call customer service to let them know, and to see what they would do.  They were just as nice as pie, and apologized profusely.  I told them I wouldn’t be able to get back to the store for almost a month (not having a car is a bit of a pain sometimes) and they told me not to worry about that, they’d refund my money whenever I came in.

I kept the little cardboard insert to show to them (it had little bits of grey fuzz that I hadn’t noticed when I took the shell out) to prove it, and when I showed it to them, the CSR said, you didn’t need to bring that to us, we would have believed you without it!

The whole process took less than two minutes and I was on my way with my $3.99, and I will definitely continue to shop there because they were so great.

by Sea Hag

My Sears Kenmore Front  Loading washer needs service under warranty. First, I phone the 800 number to be told that it will be at least a 15 minute wait. It was. Meanwhile I grab my cell phone & call local store to complain about the wait to ANYONE. After listening to an advertisement & then going thorugh the push this number and that one, after some 10 rings an employee finally transfers me to a suitable manager - BUT have to leave a voice message which I did. After about 17 minutes, I get transferred to a ringing extension, then dead silence - have I been cut off? I had to move now to another floor where I had my applicance information & did not hang up although I did think I was now cut off. Whew - someone answered & apologized for long wait saying they were short staffed. The short story is that I have an appointment (servce person will call to confirm approx time) on Friday. This is Monday. I do mega loads of laundry in a week - this is acceptable service? And we haven’t even got to Friday - will they have to order parts? So I am left in a quandary, do I call my usual wonderful service folks, Dependable Applicances in Kingston, who will likely be able to get here today or tomorrow latest to determine the problem or wait for Friday & take my laundry to the laundromat (not close). This is not my first complaint with Sears service but I have work to do NOW.

by Jen

We recently bought a new house and therefore had to order $8000 in new appliances.  We got quotes from about 5 different sources (The Brick claimed they were “too busy” to quote…all righty then).  The Bay came up with the best quote.  However, the day before the stove was to be delivered we got a phone call saying it would be sometime in August (supposed to be July 25).  The dishwasher arrived as promised on July 30.  But we had paid for installation - and the delivery driver told me that “someone else” would be installing and he had no further information.  Looking at the pile of dirty dishes on the top of the counter, which I had let pile up in anticipation of this glorious day (I have four kids), I wanted to cry.  When my husband phoned, they said that the delivery driver was indeed supposed to install - but that since it was their last delivery of the (very hot) day, they probably just wanted to go home.  Um.  The customer service rep agreed to send someone on Saturday, between 12-6.

So now, we had to stay home on the Saturday of a beautiful long weekend.  As 6PM approached, I started to get nervous.  Again my husband phoned and was told it was a 3rd party company so have no idea whey they didn’t show up.  I rolled up my sleeves and started in on the dishes.  After 30 minutes and a lot of negotiating Bill got the rep to agree to send someone today (Sunday), again,  ”between 12 and 6″.

So we’re homebound AGAIN. And if the dishwasher is not installed TODAY…urghhhhhhh…My biggest complaint is that they don’t have an excuse.  I mean, I hate excuses, but don’t just say, “it’s a subcontractor” as if that’s an excuse.